


Dog Days

by Veilrony



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Alternate Universe, Chimera AU, Chimera Edward Elric, Gen, Parental Roy Mustang, angsty but fluffy soon i promise
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-08
Updated: 2018-08-08
Packaged: 2019-06-23 23:12:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15617112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Veilrony/pseuds/Veilrony
Summary: Edward is gravely injured in a battle, and the only way to save him is to turn him into a chimera.





	Dog Days

Edward woke up in a hospital bed, in a room with only one light hanging from the ceiling, and no windows. The walls and ceiling were cement, cracked enough that there were sizeable holes in them.

He could remember the explosions and the screaming from that battlefield. Drachman cannons, soldiers running around and overtaking everything… everything was gone. He shot up in his bed at the memory, earning a shooting pain from his arm. He held it close to his chest while Ed massaged it. Then he realized what was wrong. This was his right arm in his hands, and it wasn’t supposed to feel pain. It was supposed to be hard steel, why was it… furry? He stared down at it and gaped. His arms were covered in a white and golden patched fur.

He jumped enough at the sight that he fell completely out of bed, and realized the extent that this had turned to. He noticed he was in a hospital gown, but it was long enough to cover his legs. He growled in pain and tried to roll over, thus catching sight of his other arm (short, weird joints, and… a paw at the end of it), and failed to get to at least a sitting position. He wanted to scream but he didn’t even know where he was. 

He laid there on the floor, like a dog, and used his other paw to pull up his gown enough to see the rest of him. Digitigrade legs, a paw that was a mix between a human’s foot and a dog’s. Patchy hair that went all the way up his leg… What the fuck was going on, what had happened to him?

Images of Nina flashed back to him, and he wanted to throw up. Tucker was dead though, right? This wasn’t supposed to ever happen again.

Where was Al?

Now, he started to scream. “Al!” the word came out deeper, growlier, more like a bark than his usual voice. He almost retched at the sound of himself. “Where’s Al?” 

He twisted around and noticed a mirror on the wall to his right. One-sided? Was someone watching him. “Where is he?” he shouted at it. “Where’s my brother?”

He tried to get up to his feet again but at the most got to his paws… hunched over, head down, sitting like a dog.

Like Nina.

He looked down at himself, his shoulders shaking, and wept tearlessly. What happened? Where was everyone? Why was he a chimera too?

He barely even heard the creaking of a door opening, then footsteps, then arms around him. “Fullmetal,” he heard someone say. Finally, Edward looked up and noticed the blue coat of the person who was hugging him. He tilted his head (noticing that there was a blind spot in the center of his vision) and saw spiky black hair. 

“Colonel Mustang?” he asked, and again his voice sounded so  _ wrong. _

“Yes, it’s me.”

“Where’s Al?” he asked again, instinctively.

Roy hugged him tighter. “He doesn’t know you’re alive…”

Ah. “Where is he?” he asked after a second.

“He’s just around central, in a hotel room. Not injured or anything.” Roy let go and knelt in front of Ed. “And I’m… sorry about this.”

Ed curled his lip, remembering his new form. “Why?” he asked after a second.

“You were badly injured and this is all the medical alchemists could do to save you.”

He didn’t want… this though. “Where am I?”

“Underneath central, in Laboratory 5.”

That made sense, he guessed. “Am I stuck down here?” was the next thing that came to mind, and to that Roy shook his head.

“Apparently there are other chimera that have had to have emergency procedures like this. They’re usually put in special ops.”

Ed’s pelt spiked in fear. That wasn’t going to happen to him too, right?

“For now though, you’re just going to come home with me, and we’ll show Al that you’re actually alive.”

He didn’t want to see his brother’s reaction. At all.

“Okay…”

Roy got up, hands on his knees, and made his way to the door. “Can you walk?” he asked.

Edward tried to take a few steps, but his legs buckled beneath him and he fell to the floor. “No,” he said after a second.

“Then let me help.” Roy walked over, and Ed could feel himself being raised off the ground. Roy grunted and heaved him into a better position, and Ed couldn’t help but feel pathetic at being lugged around like this.

They made their way through the halls, and surprisingly there were no guards to block the way. Ed kept his guard up and noticed his ears were pinned forward. He took a shuddering breath and slumped down into Roy’s arms. He felt a hand run through his back fur, scratching it like he was a dog. “Don’t,” he hissed instinctively.

Roy pulled away immediately, thankfully. “Sorry.”

Edward didn’t respond, his paws swinging with the colonel’s steps. It was quiet, and he got to imagining how Alphonse would react to being put in the exact same situation as Nina. He probably wouldn’t be able to transmute anything, or at least would have to learn how to clap his paws at a speed that would work. For that matter, he couldn’t even wield weapons. He’d have to engineer… dog weapons for himself.

Would a philosopher’s stone save him? He’d rather fix Alphonse first anyways…

He huffed, and Roy hugged him tighter. “Fullmetal?”

He huffed again, unsure how else to respond. 

“It’s going to be okay, okay?” Roy’s hug grew tight enough that Edward wheezed, and then he loosened his python grip.

Edward groaned and dug his snout into the colonel’s jacket. He appreciated the sentiment, but right now, he was certain that wasn’t the case.

 

 


End file.
